NASA helicopter ready for first flight to Mars in two days - France 24

Washington (AFP)

NASA's Mars helicopter Ingenuity first spun its propellers in a test, ahead of its scheduled flight overnight Sunday through Monday, the first of a motorized craft to another planet.

"The helicopter is fine, it's healthy," Tim Canham, operations manager for Ingenuity, told a press conference on Friday.

"Last night (...) we turned the propellers very slowly and carefully," he said.

The moment was captured by the Perseverance rover, located several meters away, and on which the helicopter had been carried since it landed on Mars on February 18, before it separated from it last weekend.

NASA has released a very brief video clip of the craft - which looks more like a large drone - with its propellers spinning.

The first flight will take place Monday at 02:54 GMT (Sunday at 22:54 on the East Coast of the United States), announced the American space agency.

The first data is expected to arrive on Earth on Monday around 08:15 GMT (04:15 on the US East Coast).

A live broadcast from NASA teams analyzing these first data will be visible on the space agency's website.

The first flight will last 40 seconds in total, and the helicopter will rise only vertically before hovering.

"We're going to take off, go up to three meters high, we're going to pivot in the direction of the rover, take a picture, and then we're going to come back down," said Tim Canham.

NASA plans up to five flights, of increasing difficulty, over a period of one month.

A last test of the propellers must still be carried out this Friday, this time "at full speed", said MiMi Aung, project manager for the helicopter at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) of NASA.

Soaring in Martian air is a challenge, as it is of a density equivalent to only 1% that of the Earth's atmosphere.

Even if the gravity is less there than on Earth, the NASA teams had to develop an ultra-light machine (1.8 kg), and the propellers will turn much faster than a standard helicopter.

What are the chances of success for this flight?

"The only uncertainty remains the environment of Mars", in particular "the winds", explained MiMi Aung.

It is a "high risk" experience, but with a "great reward" if successful, she summarized.

© 2021 AFP